Avaliação de comportamentos de risco em pessoas vivendo co HIV/AIDS em um centro de referência no sul do Brasil

Abstract

Introduction: HIV infection is no longer a threat of impending death, but it is instead a chronic disease associated with longer life expectancy. With the antiretroviral therapy advent as currently advocated, people living with HIV/AIDS live indefinitely, but they continued to be subjected to social stigma and stressful events more frequently and intensively than other chronic diseases. These situations have already been statistically related to risk behaviors in this population. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate risk behaviors in people living with HIV/AIDS in a referral center in southern Brazil. Article 1 assessed the differences in factors associated with psychoactive substance abuse/dependence among men and women living with HIV/AIDS. Article 2 assessed the suicide risk prevalence and related factors in this population. Methods: A cross-sectional study with people living with HIV/AIDS attended at the Specialized Assistance Service (SAS) in Pelotas, southern Brazil. The following instruments were used for the research: a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire; Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), for the psychoactive substance abuse/dependence evaluation; and Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, module C (MINI), for the suicide risk evaluation. Results: Article 1: The psychoactive substances abuse/dependence prevalence was higher among men than among women, 22.1% and 9.9%, respectively. The associated factors with psychoactive substances abuse/dependence differed with respect to gender. After multivariate analysis, in the male sample, age less than 47 years old, unemployment, socioeconomic status, tobacco abuse/dependence, anxiety, comorbidities and route of infection were independently associated with psychoactive substances abuse/dependence; in the female sample, age less than 35 years old, tobacco abuse/ dependence, and sexual behavior (women who have sex with women) were independently associated with psychoactive substance abuse/dependence. Article 2: The suicide risk prevalence was high in this population: 34.1% of the sample. In the multivariate analysis, female gender, age up to 47 years old, unemployment, anxiety, depression and substance abuse/dependence were independently related to the suicide risk. Conclusions: The prevalence of the risk behaviors assessed in this sample of people living with HIV/AIDS was high, in agreement with the literature on the subject. Men had higher psychoactive substances abuse/dependence prevalence than women, and also had greater associated factors number. Among women, sexual behavior was independently related to psychoactive substances abuse/dependence. Suicide risk was associated to sociodemographic and clinical factors.